Oriskany in October

[bbarnett51]

I dove the Oriskany two weeks ago and realize I have to go back.i can't make it until the second week in Oct. What are the conditions like that time of the year. I am going with Down Under bc they have one of the larger boats. They said the weather was a little uunpredictable that time of the year.

Any input on this? For some reason I can stop thinking about that dive. I feel like I need to dive it several more times to see everything.

 

[Hetland]

Weather in the Gulf is ALWAYS unpredictable. Especially during Hurricane Season (yes, we get storms in October).

The only thing mildly predictable is water temp, probably somewhere between 72 and 78 in October. Currents at the site are unpredictable by depth. I've had screaming surface currents, and nothing below, and I've had significant currents from 60ft to 100ft, and nothing above and below it. The best way to mitigate this is to never, ever, ever let go of the travel line until you are on the boat or on the wreck. I speak from humbling experience :blush:

The only other advice I have is to get or rent high volume tanks (LP95's or HP100's should be fine) so you get more bang for your buck. Unless you're an air hog, I wouldn't recommend larger (hp120's) tanks because you'll run into NDL times at those depths (you can't dive a mix that's too rich) so you'll be lugging extra tank, but the return on your investment decreases.

I've done over a dozen dives on the Oriskany and I learn something new about the wreck, or the associated wildlife on every dive. If you can't get on the Down Under, try the H2O Below. It's a larger boat, and the captain's pretty goof about under-filling it so there's plenty of room on deck for gear and leg-room Charter Boat H2O Below - Dive The USS Oriskany in Pensacola, Florida